Planned Parenthood benefits from Palin

WASHINGTON — Planned Parenthood loves Sarah Palin.

Not for her stance on abortion — she's strongly opposed — but because her presence on the Republican ticket is helping the group raise money.

An e-mail urging people to donate to Planned Parenthood Federation of America "in honor of Sarah Palin" has generated more than 31,000 donations totaling $802,678 as of Saturday, the group said.

The e-mail, which has been promoted on some liberal blogs for weeks, asks people who are unhappy with John McCain's running mate to donate to Planned Parenthood. Donors are asked to list the address of the McCain campaign headquarters or the Alaska governor's office, each of which receives a card recognizing any donation made in Palin's name.

Calls to the McCain-Palin campaign were not returned.

A Planned Parenthood spokesman said the group wasn't the source of the original e-mail. The spokesman forwarded an entry from The Huffington Post blog in which Los Angeles Times columnist and radio host Patt Morrison took credit for the idea.

Morrison said she started a campaign in 2001 to protest newly elected President Bush's opposition to abortion and raised more than $1 million in his name. In a recent blog entry, Morrison said she was delighted that her idea had been revived for Palin, who opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest.